You can add zones by linking two or more routers.

ZON Audio comes from Oxmoor, an Alabama company whose credits include sound systems in IMAX theaters, Universal Studios and NBC studios. ZON Audio debuted in 2002 and was honored by the Consumer Electronics Association with a prestigious "Mark of Excellence Award" in 2003 and by CE Pro magazine with a "2003 High Impact Award." ZON also won CE Pro's "Innovator of the Year" award in 2003 beating out thousands of companies under consideration (including big-time brands like Microsoft and Sony).

The router

The heart of the ZON system is the ZR-98 router, which delivers electricity, audio signals, and control signals to and from the other system components. The ZR-98 installs in a utility room or service closet, out of sight and out of your way. It connects as many as nine music source inputs to ZAC-60 controller/amplifiers in four music zones.

What does that mean, exactly? It means you have a lot of flexibility. A "music zone" is an area you power and control with one or two ZAC-60s. It could be a single room, or it could be two. But you can only play one music source at a time in each zone.

The controller/amplifier

The ZAC-60 controller/amplifier is the real stroke of genius here. Its built-in 60-watt digital amplifier (30 watts x 2 RMS) puts the power in the same room (or zone) as the speakers. This eliminates the need to install hundreds of feet of speaker wire (which saves you money) and improves audio quality.

The ZAC-60 also incorporates an infrared receiver that passes remote control commands to music sources throughout the home. A built-in microphone enables system-wide paging as well as zone monitoring, ideal for listening in on a child's playroom or bedroom.

Don't be fooled by the scarcity of buttons on the ZAC-60. It can do as much as those scary, over-engineered keypads you see in many other whole house systems. For starters, it gives you volume control, source selection, tone, loudness, balance and some built-in equalization modes.

The integrated jog wheel and high-resolution dot matrix display give you a stylish and intuitive user interface. To access the ZAC-60's powerful features, simply press and briefly hold the jog wheel to view the functions menu. Turn the jog wheel left or right to view the menu of functions available. To select a particular function, briefly press the jog wheel.

The ability to control your music source components using the jog wheel comes with the installation of the optional ZIR-232 Device Commander module, which simply plugs into the router. It lets you control nearly all brands of stereo components through your ZAC-60s. If it doesn't already know the remote control codes for your components, it can easily learn them. The software that comes with the module lets you personalize the source control interface.

When it comes to looks, the ZAC-60s can blend in or stand out. If you want people to notice, the standard titanium finish is your best bet. If not, you can buy a white faceplate.

If you don't install the Device Commander module, or you'd rather not have to get out of your easy chair, you can control your music sources via the built-in infrared repeater system. A small remote control comes with each ZAC-60, but these are for the basic ZAC-60 functions only (power on/off, volume, muting, and source selection). To take full advantage of the IR repeater system, you'll need the remote for the music source component or, better yet, a separate universal remote.

Plenty of power

For something that's cool-running and small enough to fit in a compact wall-mount unit, the amp inside the ZAC-60 is surprisingly potent. Thirty watts per channel is less than you find in most receivers these days, but is as much or more than you can expect from many other multi-room alternatives. I tried it with some large floor-standing speakers. It had no trouble driving them. The sound was crisp, clean and detailed, with plenty of low-end punch. You won't achieve ear-splitting volume, but for the kind of listening that most people do around the house, the ZAC-60 delivers plenty of power.